The crash happened at Garden and Mather streets about 5 a.m., Sgt. Marisol Rodriguez-Velez said. Some of the victims were lying in the street when officers arrived, she said.

One of the cars, a Dodge Charger, burned in the fire. An electrical box that was struck during the crash may have contributed to the fire, Foley said.

He said it is too early to tell if speed, drugs or alcohol contributed to the crash. It appears both cars, the Charger and a Hyundai, were in motion at the time of impact, he said. The intersection has a traffic signal; police were trying to determine if one car went through a red light.

The two cars, one charred, were sitting askew on Mather Street after the crash. The victim who died was in the back seat of one of the cars. A bumper sat on the sidewalk and debris littered the road.

Neighbors said they heard what sounded like an explosion before dawn. Robin Jackson, 52, of Bloomfield said he was staying nearby with a relative and went to the scene. He pulled a man who was in his 40s and a woman in her 30s out of the burning car, he said.

He tried to remove another man from the back seat of the Charger, he said, but he couldn't get him out.

Antonio Artis said that the man who died was his cousin, and that he looked up to his cousin growing up in Stowe Village, he said.

"He taught me a lot of things," he said.

He said his cousin would lend a hand if anyone needed help.

"If he sees you're down and out, he'd help you," he said.

The intersection of Garden and Mather streets was closed throughout the morning as police investigated. Garden Street reopened early Tuesday afternoon, but Mather Street remained closed between Garden and Enfield Street for utility repairs, Foley said.